Jan 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has appointed former Test captain Hashan Thilakaratne as a full time member of the Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee today to replace Hemantha Wickramaratne who resigned from the committee.

Wickramaratne, who was appointed by the Minister to the new selection committee as a selector on Monday, has informed that he is unable to engage in the job on a full time basis.

Thilakaratne, an opposition United national party (UNP) member of the Western Provincial Council, captained the Test side from 2003 -2004.

Thilakaratne played in 83 Tests and scored 4,545 runs and in 200 ODIs he scored 3,789 runs.

In 2011, Thilakaratne leveled allegations of match-fixing in Sri Lanka cricket saying that he had names and evidence to prove match fixing that had taken place in cricket for almost two decades.

The new selection panel comprises five members and it is headed by former Test cricket captain and the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance parliamentarian Sanath Jayasuriya.

Former fast bowlers Pramodya Wickramasinghe and Eric Upashantha, and former batsman Chaminda Mendis are the other selectors.